The general manager of Transit says that the LRT needs permanent fixes before Stage 2 opens
The city’s transit general manager said Thursday that Ottawa’s light rail system is safe for riders, but short-term fixes can’t be used for decades. The Transportation Safety Board had warned about the light rail vehicles the day before.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has looked into what caused an axle to break off a train wheel in August 2021, which led to a derailment, as well as a vibration problem an operator noticed the following summer that might be related. In its most recent letter to the city, the TSB said that some component failures could be caused by how the Alstom Citadis Spirit vehicle, a new model made to the city’s specifications, was designed.
- The TSB report says that the problems that led to the LRT accident still “pose a risk to safety.”
At the first meeting of the city’s newly formed light rail sub-committee on Thursday, Transit general manager Renée Amilcar told councillors about the TSB letter. She also talked to reporters and answered their questions.
Amilcar said, “It’s safe to take the train right now.” “Yesterday I took the train, and I will continue to do so in the future.”
She said that the risks listed in the letter are being lessened.
Amilcar said that the city’s private maintenance group, Rideau Transit Maintenance, and its subcontractor, Alstom, are doing extra inspections that require a lot of staff, the trains are going slower, and many axles are being replaced much earlier than usual as a safety measure.
She said that by taking these steps, the city can “live with the risk,” but this can’t go on for long.
Sticking with Alstom train
Amilcar wants the axle bearing problems to be fixed by late 2024 or early 2025, when the Confederation Line’s eastern leg to Trim Station opens.
She said that was part of the reason why the City of Ottawa and Rideau Transit Group worked out their maintenance differences. The deal includes a promise from RTG to fix problems for good. However, city officials have said that the public will never find out what the terms of the settlement are.
When asked if the City of Ottawa would consider changing train models or canceling its order for more Alstom Citadis Spirit trams for Stage 2 extensions east and west, city officials said no.
Amilcar said that all but about 20 of the 72 light rail cars for Stage 2 have already arrived. She said that if the root cause analysis of the axle problem shows that a certain fix is needed, all Alstom vehicles will need to be fixed.
In the same way, if that analysis has suggestions for the tracks that Stage 2 contractor KEV is laying now, they can be fixed with a rail grinder, said Michael Morgan, the city’s rail construction director.
Menard motio
The new light rail sub-job committee’s job is to keep an eye on rail construction and make sure that the City of Ottawa follows the suggestions made in the LRT Public Inquiry report, which came out last November.
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“Egregious violations of public trust,” says the commission. The LRT was put into service too quickly.
Most of the 103 suggestions are for the city and Rideau Transit Group. Amilcar said that by the next meeting in March, he would have a full action plan.
Coun. Shawn Menard put forward a motion on Thursday to address one of the main findings of the inquiry: that the council had given staff the power to make decisions about Stage 1 LRT.
The public inquiry found that former transit boss John Manconi and former city manager Steve Kanellakos kept information about the final testing of the train in the summer of 2019 from the public.
The subcommittee agreed that staff should have to give regular updates on how they use that power and that “material changes” to light rail contracts would have to be brought to council for approval.
Menard’s attempt to take away the city manager’s power to change the criteria for the final trial run of Stage 2 LRT, which would have led to the city taking over those extensions, failed by a vote of 4 to 2.
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who voted for Menard, said, “I am worried about that “go or no go” decision, and I want to make sure that council is kept fully informed.” “The council has already been burned. “The people who live in Ottawa have been hurt.”
But Coun. Glen Gower, who is also the chair of the transit commission, said that if only the city council could make decisions, some of them could become too political. Gower, Cathy Curry, Steve Desroches, and Tim Tierney all voted against taking away that power.
During the meeting, Amilcar promised that he would send emails to the council every day during the Stage 2 trial run.